Apparatus for separating copying tests

ABSTRACT

The apparatus for separating paper sheets from interleaved carbon sheets of a copying set consists of a pair of driven gripping rollers for seizing the copying set along its jointing edge, and a clamping carriage spaced from the gripping rollers with its clamping slot arranged opposite to the gripping slot of the gripping rollers. The carriage is provided for limited toand-fro movement with respect to the gripping rollers. THe apparatus allows to safely separate paper and carbon sheets with high speed and without paper damage. Additional cutter spindles can be provided for cutting the carbon sheets into smallstrips.

United States Patent Meyer I451 Dec. 19, 1972 APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING COPYING TESTS [72] Inventor: Hans Meyer, Horneburg NE, Germany [73] Assignee: Hans Meyer Fabrik Vordruck- Systeme und Organisationsmittel ,GroBdruckerei und Verlat, Horneburg, Germany [22] Filed: July 8, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 160,866

[52] US. Cl. ..225/94, 225/101, 225/106 [51] Int. Cl. ..B26f 3/02 [58] Field of Search ..225/94, 10], 106, 100

[56] I References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,246,228 6/1941 Winter ..225/94X 2,600,041 6/1952 Wright ..225/94 2,915,234 12/1959 Zalkind 3,161,335 12/1964 Pine et a1. ..225/106 X Primary ExaminerFrank T. Yost Att0rneyTownsend F. Beaman et al.

[57] ABSTRACT The apparatus for separating paper sheets from'intcrleaved carbon sheets of a copying set consists of a pair of driven gripping rollers for seizing the copying set along its jointing edge, and a clamping carriage spaced from the gripping rollers with its clamping slot ar-' ranged opposite to the gripping slot of the gripping rollers. The carriage is provided for limited to-and-fro movement with respect to the gripping rollers. THe apparatus allows to safely separate paper and carbon sheets with high speed and without paper damage. Additional cutter spindles can'be provided'for cutting the carbon sheets into smallstrips.

7 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures 1 APPARATUS For: SEPARATING COPYING TESTS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an apparatus for separating copying sets.

Copying sets are known which consist of a plurality of sheets of paper, which may be of different colors, with interleaved carbon papers. All the sheets of paper, that means the sheets of paper to be covered with writing and the sheets of carbon paper, are stuck together at their upper ends or on one side thereof. The sheets of papers to be written on are provided with a perforation directly beneath the stuck edge or beside it, so that they may separated relatively easily from the edge strip, while the non-perforated carbon sheets are retained at the stuck edge.

In practice it has been found that the separation of the copyingsets is not always easily achieved. In many cases the carbon sheets are torn off and must be taken out from between the individual sheets of paper, which needs a certain amount of time. In other cases, the sheets of paper are not separated properly along the perforation. When pulling too hard the sheets of paper may be torn instead of being properly separated, which means that the written sheets can no longer be used and a new set must be written. 7

It is the object of the invention to provide an apparatus by means of which separation of the copying sets may be effected quickly and safely with a minimum of work, time and energy. It is also an object to destroy the carbon paper and the joining edge strip simultaneously with the separation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the invention, an apparatus for separating copying sets and at the same time destroying the carbon papers and the edge strip comprises a clamping carriage to retain a copying 'set to be separated at its edge opposite the stuck edge, and a unit formed of a rotatable pair of gripping rolls for seizing the copying set at the stuck edge and a rotatable pair of cutter spindles arranged therebehind for cutting the carbon papers separated, in which the clamping carriage may be moved to and fro with respect to the unit composed by the pair of gripping rolls and the pair of cutter spindles.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the clamping carriage is provided with a fixed lower clamping bar and an upper clamping bar adapted to be manually moved between an open position and a closed position. The upper clamping bar is fastened on a lever bar with a rotatably supported eccentric shaft provided with a hand lever urging thereagainst. An abutment which may be fixed in several positions is preferably provided to limit the path of movement of the clamping carriage.

The mode of operation of the apparatus consists essentially in that the copying set to be separated, which Preferably, circular cutters are provided on each being pulled through further by the pair of gripping rolls and fed to the pair of cutter spindles arranged therebehind, which cutter spindles then cut the carbon paper into strips.

' BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING An apparatus for separating copying sets in accordance with the invention will now be described by way of example, with particular reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the separating apparatus,

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a clamping carriage of the separating apparatus taken along line II of FIG. 1

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the clamping carriage of the separating apparatus taken along line II-Il of FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the clamping carriage of the separating apparatus taken along line lIl- -lII of FIG. 1,

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a side wall of the separating apparatus taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 1,

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the pair of gripping rolls of the separating apparatus taken alongline V-V of FIG. 1,

FIG. 7 is a sectional view'of the pair of cutter spindles of the separating apparatus taken along line Vl VI of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 8 is a view of a cabinet on which the separating apparatus may be fastened.

' DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As will be seen from FIG. 1, two side walls 17 (the one of them which is not shown being the mirror image of the shown one), which areretained by an end wall 16 and two spacer axles 18,.form the frame of the separating apparatus and at the same time constitute the support for its individual parts.

The clamping carriage A is disposed at the left-hand end of the device as shown in FIG. 1, while a unit B comprising the pair of gripping rolls 27 and the pair of cutter spindles 28 is disposed at the other end. The clamping carriage A may be moved to and fro on rollers 14, which run in slots or on rails provided in the side walls 17. A table plate 22 is fastened at the lower clamping bar 12 of the clamping carriage A by means of an angle steel21 at such a level that the table plate 22 forms a unit with the surface of the lower clamping bar 12. The lateral edges of the table plate 22 engage within longitudinal grooves provided in the side walls 17. The end of the table plate 22 remote from the clamping carriage A grips over a second table plate '24 which extends as far as the pair of gripper rolls 27 and has its lateral edges likewise inserted in longitudinal grooves formed in the sidewalls 17. The table plate 22 is thus movable with respect to the table plate 24 in that it is moved together with the clamping carriage.

side walls 17.

The pair of gripping rolls 27 disposed at the other end of the apparatus is adapted to be driven by means of an electric motor 23, fastened at the side walls 17, through a drive wheel 25 and an intermediate wheel 26. The pair of gripping rolls 27 in turn, through another intermediate gear 26, drives the pair of cutter spindles 28 arranged rearwardly thereof with respect to the clamping carriage. The drive wheel 25 is. fastened at the electric motor 23 the intermediate gears 26, 26' are supported on bolts fastened in the side walls 17 with the aid of ball bearings.

In the preferred embodiment shown, the pair of gripping rolls.27 and the pair of cutter spindles 28 are covered by a protective cap 28. The individual members of the apparatus will now be described in more FIG. 6 shows the manner in which the gripping rolls 27 are supported by means of ball bearings 32 in the side wall 17, the gripping rolls being engaged with each other by barrel wheels 31.

In FIG. 7 a representation of the cutter spindles 28 is shown. Rings 33, which are preferably made of rubber, are provided on the cutter spindles 28 together with circular cutters 34 which are pressed against the edge of the cutter spindles 28 by means of a nut (not shown). The cutter spindles 28 are in contact with each other by means'of barrel wheels 31 and are supported in ball bearing 32 in the side walls 17.

In one embodiment of the invention which is shown in FIG. 8, the separating apparatus is fitted on a cabinet 37, with a container 36, a bag made of paper or plastic material or the like, disposed in said cabinet for collectdetail with respect to the FIGS. 2 to 7, in connection with FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 shows how the clamping carriage A and the side members 8 thereof are fastened at the side walls 17 to be able to perform a reciprocating movement. A transversal ledge 3'is mounted between the side members 8 of the clamping carriage. A roller bolt 13 is pressed into the side member 8, the roller 14 of the roller bolt 13 running in a slot provided in the side wall From FIG. 3, especially in connection with FIG. 1, it can be seen how a clamping bar 9 is connected to a lever bar 1, which is pivotable through an eccentric shaft 2. The lever bar 1 is secured at the clamping carriage side member 8 by means of a pin 15 which is rotatably supported in said clamping carriage side member 8. An elongated square rod 4 is screwed from below to the clamping carriage side member 8 and carries a pin 7 at the outer end thereof. A tension spring 6 has one end thereof fastened to said pin 7, while the otherend is fastened at a pin provided on the lever b'arl level with pin 7.

Two rollers 41 are disposed beneath the square rod 4 and are supported on pins 42 (see FIG. 1) inserted in the square rod 4. The rollers 41 are laterally guided by an angle iron 43 screwed to the side wall 17 and by the side wall 17 thereby securing a good guidance of the clamping carriage A to protect it from being canted.

FIG. 4 shows how the lower clamping ledge 12 is connected to the clamping carriage side member 8. A roller bolt'l3 (in a similar way as shown in FIG. 2) is inserted into side member 8, the roller 14 of said roller bolt 13 engaging within a slot in the side wall 17. The eccentric shaft 2 is rotatably supported in the lower part of the clamping carriage side member 8, with an operating lever fitted; to said eccentric shaft 2, said eccentric shaft 2 as set forth above exerting a pressure on the lever bar 1, which is disposed behind the shaft 2 and on which the upper clamping bar 9 is fastened, the clamping bar 9 being provided with abutment pins 11.

FIG. 5 shows a more detailed representation of an abutment 29 by means of which the movement of the clamping'carriage A in a direction towards the pair of gripping rolls 27 may be limited. As shown, the abutment is arranged for back and forth displacement in the side wall 17 and may be fixed by means of a screw 30.

ingthe carbon paper shreds. e

The mode of operation of the separating apparatus will now be described. The side walls 17 have a longitudinal graduation applied thereto with measuring strokes corresponding to the lengths of the different types of usual copying sets. When starting the apparatus the clamping carriage A is at first brought into a position such that its front edge is in register with the measuring stroke corresponding to the length of the copying set to be separated. Thereafter, the abutment 29 is pushed against the clamping carriage A and secured by tightening the screw 30. This done, the clamping carriage is pushed back by a distance of 3 to 4 cm, and the electric motor 23 is switched on, sothat the pair of gripper rolls 27 and the pair of cutter spindles 28 rotate. Then the copying set is placed on the table plate 22, 24 and pushed between the opened upper clamping bar 9 and the stationary lower clamping bar 12 upto the point where they abut against the series of abutment'pins 1 l.

Thereupon, the upper clamping bar 9 is closed by rotating the lever 10 as far as shown in FIG. 1, thereby actuating the upper clamping bar 9 by means of the eccentric shaft 2 via the lever bar 1. When the lever 10 has reached the position in which the bar 9 is clamped tight, the clamping carriage A is pushed forward by said lever, the pair of gripping rolls 27 seizing the copying set and pulling it against the abutment 29 together with the clamping. carriage A, the carbon paper being separated and eliminated by tearing off the sheets. of

paper of the copying set at the perforation and retaining them with the aid of the clamping carriage, while the stuck edge strip and the sheets of carbon paper are passed onto the pair of cutter spindles 28 by the pair of gripping rolls 27, and are shredded by said pair of cutter spindles.

The shreds of carbon paper are centrifugally thrown along a bent protection cap 20 and through a downward opening into the intercepting container 36 situated in the cabinet 37. Immediately the clamping carriage A has abutted against the abutment 29, it may again be pushed back by the lever 10 and opened by lifting the upper clamping bar 9, because the carbon paper is separated and removed very quickly.

When the clamping carriage-A is pushed back, which is helped by the louver 40 because the rubber straps are pulling the carriage, and opened, the separated copying set is taken off, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, the copying set may be placed on an extensible rest which may be extended from the cabinet 37, and a new copy- 106011 0030 not ing set may be taken from another likewise extensible rest and placed into the separating apparatus. After all the copying sets to be separated have been finished, the separating apparatus is switched off.

Attention must still be drawn to the fact that the apparatus represented in the drawings is only one embodiment of the invention, although it is a preferred embodiment.

What I claim is:

1. An apparatus for separating written paper sheets from interleaved carbon sheets of a copying set and destroying the separated carbon sheets, the paper sheets being perforated near and along the connecting edge of the set, comprising a pair of driven gripping rollers adapted to seize the copying set along the connecting edge thereof, a clamping carriage spaced from the gripping rollers with its clamping slot arranged opposite to the gripping slot of the gripping rollers, the carriage being provided for limited to-and-fro movement with respect to gripping rollers, a support for the copying set arranged between the camping slot of the carriage and the gripping slot of the gripping rollers and a pair of driven cutter spindles arranged behind the gripping rollers for cutting up the carbon sheets.

2. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein the clamping carriage consists of a lower and an upper clamping bar, the upper clamping bar being movable with respect to the lower clamping bar between an open position and a clamping position. I

3. An apparatus in accordance with claim 2, wherein the upper clamping bar is fastened on a lever bar, and an eccentric shaft provided with a manual lever is in engagement with said lever bar so that the upper clamping bar may be operated upon rotation of the eccentric shaft.

4. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein the movement of the clamping carriage towards said pair of gripping rollers is limited by an adjustable abutment member adapted to stop the carriage movement at different distances from said gripping rollers.

5. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein circular cutters provided on each cutter spindle are spaced from each other by means of rings of resilient material and are pressed against, the edge of the cutter spindle by a nut, and wherein the individual cutter spindles are in contact with each other by means of barrel wheels.

6. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein the support consists of two overlapping table plates one of which is mounted at the clamping carriage and moved therewith.

7. An apparatus for separating written paper sheets from interleaved carbon sheets of a copying set, the paper sheets being perforated near and along the connecting edge of the set, comprising a pair of driven gripping rollers adapted to seize the copying set along the connecting edge thereof, a clamping carriage spaced from the pair of gripping rollers with its clamping slot arranged opposite with respect to the gripping slot of said gripping rollers, the carriage being provided for limited to-and-fro movement towards the gripping rollers and a support for the copying set to be separated arranged between the clamping slot of the carriage and the gripping slotof the gripping rollers. 

1. An apparatus for separating written paper sheets from interleaved carbon sheets of a copying set and destroying the separated carbon sheets, the paper sheets being perforated near and along the connecting edge of the set, comprising a pair of driven gripping rollers adapted to seize the copying set along the connecting edge thereof, a clamping carriage spaced from the gripping rollers with its clamping slot arranged opposite to the gripping slot of the gripping rollers, the carriage being provided for limited to-and-fro movement with respect to gripping rollers, a support for the copying set arranged between the camping slot of the carriage and the gripping slot of the gripping rollers and a pair of driven cutter spindles arranged behind the gripping rollers for cutting up the carbon sheets.
 2. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein the clamping carriage consists of a lower and an upper clamping bar, the upper clamping bar being movable with respect to the lower clamping bar between an open position and a clamping position.
 3. An apparatus in accordance with claim 2, wherein the upper clamping bar is fastened on a lever bar, and an eccentric shaft pRovided with a manual lever is in engagement with said lever bar so that the upper clamping bar may be operated upon rotation of the eccentric shaft.
 4. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein the movement of the clamping carriage towards said pair of gripping rollers is limited by an adjustable abutment member adapted to stop the carriage movement at different distances from said gripping rollers.
 5. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein circular cutters provided on each cutter spindle are spaced from each other by means of rings of resilient material and are pressed against the edge of the cutter spindle by a nut, and wherein the individual cutter spindles are in contact with each other by means of barrel wheels.
 6. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein the support consists of two overlapping table plates one of which is mounted at the clamping carriage and moved therewith.
 7. An apparatus for separating written paper sheets from interleaved carbon sheets of a copying set, the paper sheets being perforated near and along the connecting edge of the set, comprising a pair of driven gripping rollers adapted to seize the copying set along the connecting edge thereof, a clamping carriage spaced from the pair of gripping rollers with its clamping slot arranged opposite with respect to the gripping slot of said gripping rollers, the carriage being provided for limited to-and-fro movement towards the gripping rollers and a support for the copying set to be separated arranged between the clamping slot of the carriage and the gripping slot of the gripping rollers. 